This week in gaming... [Warning, topic contains Youtube]

Update added @8:31PM

Sorry for the delay.

I'm going to be doing these whenever I get a chance to on Wednesdays due to being busy, so with the exception of yesterday, I'll be adding three top news stories I like; if I find more, they'll be added, but the top three shall be added.

Second Life detective pens Second Life detective novel
Operating since about 2007, Flick Faulds has run a detective agency in Second Life, though not all of his operations were in the virtual environment. It's only natural (considering that every user is outside of Second Life) that investigations led outside as well.

After quite some time operating, and a bunch of cases behind his belt, Faulds has revealed himself to be Peter May, award-winning Glaswegian-born novelist. May's particularly notable for his deep research for his China Thrillers series and his Enzo Files series.

This week, more than 12 months of May's research as Second Life detective Flick Faulds resulted in the US publication of his new thriller, Virtually Dead.

Virtually Dead
(Poisoned Pen Press, Jan 2010, hard cover ISBN: 1590586700 paperback ISBN: 1590587081)

Crime-scene photographer Michael Kapinsky, suffering after the death of his wife, is persuaded to enter the online virtual world of Second Life to participate in a new kind of group therapy. Once there, he discovers a chilling connection between crime scenes he has attended real life, and scenes depicted in the virtual world.

When he uncovers a series of killings and a financial scam that is netting the murderer millions of dollars, Michael finds that both in Second Life and in real life, someone is out to kill him.

~{X}~

PS3 to See 10% Gain in 2010 as Wii and Xbox 360 Decline, says Analyst
With 2010 now underway, analysts are looking ahead to make projections for the full calendar year. Wii sales in 2009 started to decline significantly in the second half, until the December holiday surge. Satoru Iwata believes the console has "recovered," but if you ask Lazard Capital Markets analyst Colin Sebastian, that holiday momentum won't last. He's forecasting a 20% decline in unit sales for the Wii this year.

"One key takeaway from the holiday period is that there is ample demand for console hardware at reduced price points. Not only did Nintendo’s Wii benefit from a reacceleration in unit sales at lower price points ($149 in many stores), but PS3 sell-through is improving and the Xbox 360 is maintaining momentum. While not surprising that the Wii disproportionately sold more units in 4Q, as it remains a popular gift item, the recently reported 3+ million units sold in December exceeded our expectations. However, we remain cautious in modeling follow-on Wii sales in 2010," he said.

"For the year, we are currently modeling a 10% increase in PS3 unit sales, Xbox 360 unit sales down 5%, and a 20% decline in Nintendo Wii unit sales. There is upside potential to our estimates with further hardware price reductions. At this point, we expect the console-installed base to increase by roughly 25% to 70 million units, and above the 57 million console units installed of the last generation platforms at the end of 2005."

With an increasing interest in HDTVs and a solid software lineup for Sony's console, we'd expect the PS3 to have a great year in 2010. The Wii, on the other hand, may need to incorporate another price drop to $149 to further entice consumers.

~{X}~

Sony Online Entertainment introduces "Gamer of the Month"
It looks like Sony Online Entertainment may have made a New Year's resolution to get to know its fans a little better. Community Relations Coordinator Ashlanne Barefoot recently introduced the "SOE Gamer of the Month" as a new feature on the forums, asking players to PM her for consideration. The feature is now "up and running", so it's time to send in your information.

The post includes a list of questions designed to get an overall feel for the player, their playing style, and how much they use the various features Sony Online Entertainment has to offer, such as the podcast. The questions run the gamut from "Where do you live?" to "What do you like best about your favorite SOE game?", with stops in between to cover general gaming habits, other hobbies, and other real-life things. The questionnaire reads like a cross between a marketing survey and a biography, and should provide an interesting range of responses. We look forward to seeing the first gamer of the month!

~{X}~

Team Fortress 2 Major Update Released.
Valve has released a large update for its class-based FPS Team Fortress 2, now available for download.

The patch brings a list of fixes, balance tweaks and other improvements to several different areas and features of the game. A large portion of the update specifically focuses on changes to the newly introduced bots.

The download is available now via Steam, (restart the client to queue up the file) from the notes:

Server Browser (for TF2 and DoD:S)

* Added a client-side server blacklist
o Supports blacklisting of specific servers, all servers on an IP, and all servers on a class C range
o Saves the server list to a file, and has an Import button to allow easy sharing (cfg\server_blacklist.txt)

Balance changes

* Reduced the health penalty on The Sandman
* The Force-A-Nature knockback on target now
o Only applies to hits that deal more than 30 damage and are in close range
o Factors in the firer's angle of attack when determining the knockback direction
o Has less of an effect on grounded targets
* The Dead Ringer now
o Reduces cloak to 40% when uncloaking early
o Has a 35% cap on the amount of cloak it can gain from an ammo pack
o Has a quieter de-cloak sound

Changes / Fixes

* Fixed a performance & stability issue with AMD processors
* Improved the stability of the game server -> item backend connection
* Fixed a rare server crash related to dispensers
* Added min/max values to viewmodel_fov convar to match the settings in the slider
* Reduced the number of moons in ctf_doublecross, sadly
* Demo playback now ignores sv_pure settings, allowing demos to easily contain custom content
* Fixed a crash related to sv_pure and the wireframe_dx6 shader
* Players can no longer shoot while stunned
* Fixed a bug that caused movement speed reductions to not work on stunned players
* Soldier Rage bar no longer resets when touching a resupply cabinet

Achievement fixes

* Fixed the "Second Eye" Demoman achievement
* Fixed a bug in the "Play Doctor" Medic achievement
* Changed the requirements for the "Medals of Honor" Soldier achievement
* Updated description for the "Blind Fire" Demoman achievement to better explain the requirements
* Fixed an issue that affected several achievements requiring the use of the Equalizer

Community requests

* Added "skip_next_map" server ConCommand to skip the next map in the map cycle
* Added "Play a hit sound whenever you injure an enemy" option to the Multiplayer->Advanced options menu
* Added server "tf_use_fixedshotgunspreads" convar. When set, shotgun & scattergun pellet spreads will use a non-random distribution
* Added a "show_htmlpage" command to allow server operators to display custom web pages to clients

Changes to the TF Bots

* In KOTH mode, Bots are now
o More likely to roam around and hunt enemies if there is lots of time left
o Become more likely to push for the point as time runs down, or their teammates start to capture it
* Medic bots now
o Opportunistically "overheal" nearby friends when they can
o Prioritize healing of injured nearby friends more
o Don't focus on Heavies quite so exclusively
o Don't spam their Medigun continuously at round start
o Won't choose cover far below their heal target so much (koth_nucleus)
o Fight back with their syringe-gun appropriately
* Various improvements to combat behaviors
* General bot improvements
o They no longer stand still on the point when capturing or defending it
o They choose more varied routes now
o They choose better defensive spots around captured points
o They fall back to another weapon when they entirely run out of ammo
o They adjust their FOV when using zoomed in sniper scope
o They treat in-range Sentries as the most dangerous threat
o They fire their weapons is more realistic bursts
o Engineers use their shotgun properly
* Added a "virtual mousepad" concept to rework how bots track enemy players
o They now periodically estimate the position and velocity of the enemy they are tracking, instead of "locking on"
o After rotating beyond a maximum angle, they will pause for a fraction of a second to re-center their "virtual mouse"
o Allows for over/undershoot "slop" in aiming. Looks more natural, and allows skilled players to dodge
o Addresses the "180 spin around and fire", "Heavy bot is OP", "Sniper is OP", and "I can't fight a Heavy bot as a Scout" issues
* Tuned Sniper spot finding algorithm to generate more diverse locations, partially addressing the "Predictable Sniper camping spots" issue
* Soldier bots are more careful to not fire rockets that will explode on nearby geometry and kill them
* Fixed a bug where bots tried to heal from a Dispenser being carried by an Engineer
* Tuned scoreboard logic to guard against malicious server operators spoofing bot pings to hide the "BOT" tag
* Added more bot names as suggested by the TF community

~{X}~

Large update is large, no? Have fun. XD

Update added @3:52PM

venturebeast.com 2009

Microsoft rumored to be working on integrating Xbox Live and Windows Mobile
Bill Gates promised years ago that you’d be able to enjoy shared experiences between Xbox Live online games, Windows PC games, and Windows Mobile phones. Xbox Live and Windows games were integrated into games such as Shadowrun in 2007.

But the Windows Mobile part never happened. Now it looks like Microsoft is moving forward with the integration of Xbox Live into Windows Mobile cell phone software. A job posting confirms that the company is seeking a principal program manager who would be responsible for bringing “Xbox Live enabled games to Windows Mobile.”

The posting suggests that Microsoft wants to integrate avatars, the cartoon-like characters that users can create to represent themselves on Xbox Live. Integrating social interaction and multiscreen experiences are also on the list. Another tipster tells us that you’ll be able to sign into an Xbox Live account from a Windows Mobile phone, send or receive messages from friends on the Xbox Live service, send Tweets or Facebook status updates, view and buy things on the Xbox Live Marketplace, and view all of your gaming achievements.

Clearly, Microsoft has to do something. Through its own inaction, it has allowed both Apple and Google to race ahead of it in mobile phones. Windows Mobile 6.5 launched in October, but it didn’t seem to gain Microsoft any new friends in the mobile space. Next year, Windows Mobile 7 is expected to be a better contender with Apple’s iPhone/AppStore juggernaut and Google’s Android platform.

Xbox Live, which has tens of millions of subscribers thanks to the success of multiplayer gaming on the Xbox 360, is Microsoft’s strongest service in games. It’s only logical that the company leverages that strength to help improve the struggling Windows Mobile platform. Microsoft has said that it will show off the Windows Mobile 7.0 platform to developers at its Mix conference in mid-March. We’ll see if Microsoft discloses anything new on the subject at CEO Steve Ballmer’s keynote speech at the Consumer Electronics Shows on Wednesday.

~~~

multiplayerblog.com 2009

'Mass Effect 2' Imported Data And 'New Game Plus' Options Get Clarified
In addressing the presence of a "New Game Plus" mode in "Mass Effect 2," BioWare has now confirmed that multiple playthroughs will be possible as they were in "Mass Effect." That new info appeared on a bulleted list of ways that the sequel will handle established characters and carry over player data from completed run-throughs of both games.

"If players start a New Game + after beating the game they will be able to re-use the same character import file they did for their first playthrough," BioWare community coordinator Chris Priestly wrote on the official "Mass Effect 2" forums. "Yes New Game + is making a return to 'Mass Effect 2'!"

Though a maximum "11 end-of-game saves" will be allowed, Priestly outlined how those save files will impact the "ME2" experience.

"At this point we have revealed that the save game import system will carryover all your decisions and plot decisions from 'ME1' into 'ME2,'" Priestly explained. "Did you save the Council? Who survived Virmire? And how did you handle your most ardent fan?"

Character levels will also factor in, though benefits won't impact the game's difficulty to a huge degree and will mainly focus on things like money and research resources.

"If you finished 'ME1' as a high level character you will receive greater bonuses than those who finished at lower levels," he said. "[I]f you finished 'ME1' as a level 35 character, you will receive a bonus, but if you finished 'ME1' as a level 50 character, your bonus will be larger."

Are you glad to hear that New Game Plus functionality will return in "Mass Effect 2"? What do think of BioWare's approach to saved data and character levels? Share your reactions in the comment section below.

Update added @4:43PM

SCRAWL Dec. 25th 2009

Final Fantasy XIV: New Character Customization and Story Details
Final Fantasy XIV is Square Enix’s next take on the massively-multiplayer online genre. Tonight, the publisher has released new details on the game’s character creation system, which promises “simple, yet comprehensive” customization.

Upon selecting a race and clan, players are prompted to design their character however they want, choosing from a variety of hair styles, eye colors, mouth, nose and eye shape. Scars, tatooes and other body-unique traits will be included, as well.

New details on Final Fantasy XIV’s story have surfaced alongside this customization information. Apparently, tribal beings have been wreaking havoc on citizens of Eorza for ten years. To the northeast, the Garlean Empire seeks domination over the contintent of Aldenard, where they conquest and tear down the city-state that is Ala Mhigo.

Eorza is definitely embattled in all kinds of fights. However, a mysterious power known as the Echo surfaces out of no where, causing those who touch it to relive past experiences. This may possibly “serve to sow hope for the future.”

~~~

A small update for now, figured I should add it; now I'm on my break.

Updates added @4:33PM

Game Force 4 2009

Experts Say Video Game Numbers May Decline
Electronic Entertainment Design and Research has some startling news.

1,099 video games were released to retailers in America this year. That is slightly more than 2008, which was 1,092, but it would be more accurate to say that the number held steady. While this alone is no cause for alarm, EEDAR's Jesse Divnich believes that a number of factors are going to cause these numbers to drop over the next few years.

EEDAR claims that shelf space and consumer spending will factor into the decline of new games hitting retail. Furthmore, the advent of digital distribution could cause a serious dent as well. Lastly, services like OnLive could affect this well -- on the assumption that OnLive will actually work.

EEDAR may seem as if it is only reading tea leaves, but the researchers boast on their website that they track more than "15,000 objectively quantifiable attributes of more than 9,000 game titles."

~~~

The Wired Gamer 2009

Amazon Cuts Video Game Accessory Prices
So to go along with that new game system, you need accessories right?

Amazon has you covered (yet again) with some nice discounts on all video game accessories including controllers, wireless network adapters, plus more...

~~~

TheBitBag 2009

Dark Void 20 Years In The Making
As the ‘80s were drawing to a close, the developers at Capcom began work on a top secret project that aimed to set new standards for the platformer genre. That game was called “Dark Rift”, and it blended the intense shooting action of Section Z with the latest innovations in platform jumping from Mega Man. In order to properly fulfill the producer’s vision for Dark Rift (later renamed Dark Void), the hardware engineering team at Capcom was enlisted to design and produce an all-new chipset that would be included in every cartridge, enabling huge numbers of sprites and never-before-seen special effects to be displayed on the aging NES platform and the PlayChoice-10 NES arcade cabinet.

Alas, time waits for no man and game developers are no exception. The dawn of the Super Nintendo Entertainment System made the additional hardware requirements for Dark Void redundant. Capcom suspended development on Dark Void as it began to evaluate the SNES. Before long, the game was shelved and drifted into the annals of gaming history. Even the internal tape-based archives were lost due to an unfortunate magnet incident which even today is best left un-discussed. Dark Void became a legendary “lost project” at Capcom…until now.

Nearly twenty years later the next gen version of the game, Dark Void, is back on the Xbox 360, PS3, and PC! But to commemorate the game’s humble origins, Capcom has commissioned this recreation of the original 8-bit classic, now re-titled “Dark Void Zero,” on the DSi platform. You play Rusty, the first human born in the Void, who must take on the Watchers in a quest to stop their domination of Earth. With the aid of Nikola Tesla, and his state-of-the-art rocket pack, Rusty must take down the Watchers and their minions across three intense levels of action and intrigue.

~~~

A'ight, I'm gonna take a break, but be sure to check back in tonight, as I might have found more; I don't know just yet.

Updates added @4:14PM

The News Herald 2009

PS3 sparks Christmas Eve fight


CALLAWAY — Nothing says Christmas Eve like an argument over a Playstation 3 and a “chrome pistol.”

Anthony Stewart, 32, was arrested and charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon without intent to kill, authorities said. The arrest stems from an incident in which Stewart allegedly pulled a pistol on 24-year-old Kam Pan after she came over to take a Playstation 3 and television that she said was hers, according to a Bay County Sheriff’s Office report.

Pan brought two people with her, identified as Michael Tynan and Stormie Wilson in the BCSO incident report, which Stewart deemed “disrespectful.” An argument ensued, and Wilson told Stewart he had a pistol, the report stated.

“Anthony than backed up and pulled the chrome pistol out. He was near his door on the porch when he cocked the gun and pointed it at them,” the incident report reads.

After Pan called police, Stewart returned the gun to the house before deputies arrived, BCSO reported.

When authorities arrived at the 160 N. Fox Ave. residence, the four were arguing outside. Stewart told a deputy that he never pulled a gun on anyone, but the three victims were “adamant that he did have the gun and this wasn’t over a civil issue,” deputies wrote.

~~~

The Lost Gamer 2009

Splinter Cell hits ‘Code Red’ on Xbox Live today

Ubisoft has today announced that a new trailer for Splinter Cell: Conviction is due to be made available today exclusively on Xbox Live Marketplace.

Having checked both North American and European Marketplace’s the teaser trailer, entitled “Code Red,” is now available here for European users, change region to US for North Americans, Code Red trailer.

For the latest Splinter Cell: Conviction news, videos and screenshots – head on over to our very own Splinter Cell: Conviction Launch Pad on theLostGamer.com.

~~~

More to be added, keep checking in.

Update added @7:18PM

GiantBomb 2009

Dark Void Gets Faux-Retro Sequel
Added by Jeff Gerstmann on Dec. 22, 2009

I love a good, fake story. Capcom's telling a really nice one with the announcement of Dark Void Zero, which is under development at Other Ocean and scheduled for release on DSiWare in January. The game is an 8-bit-styled faux-throwback (fauxback?), designed to make it seem like the real Dark Void, also scheduled for release in January, is really an update to an old NES game that never saw the light of day.

The in-game story of Dark Void Zero will have you in the role of Randy, the first human born in the Void. You'll fight the same Watchers that Will Grey fights in the proper Dark Void, and you'll also receive some assistance from Nikola Tesla. The game will contain three levels, which sounds like just enough to make the joke work.

The out-of-game story claims that the game was originally in development for Nintendo's first dual-screen hardware, the arcade-based PlayChoice-10, and that it was viewed as a combination of Section Z's simple flying-and-shooting gameplay with Mega Man's more advanced level structure. From the looks of the screenshots, you'll have to blow into the DS microphone to "blow the dust off the cartridge" before you can play it. That's a nice, goofy little touch.

Expect to see the game out on a Monday in January for 500 Nintendo Shop points.

I'll be going to different sites/adding more in a bit.

Update added @6:53PM

GiantBomb 2009

Capcom Pushes Three Out Of Q1 2010
Added by Jeff Gerstmann on Dec. 22nd, 2009

You know, when publishers started pushing games out of the fourth quarter of 2009, it made some sense. It's the holiday season. It's crowded. And Modern Warfare 2 was poised to sell something like eight trillion copies, sucking up all monies previously earmarked for... well, just about anything else.

At least, that was what made sense back when publishers started pushing games. After seeing games like Borderlands move a couple million units in the face of stiff opposition, I was left wondering if too many games had moved out to Q1, effectively delaying the holiday bloodbath by three months instead of eliminating it entirely.

Looks like Capcom feels that the first quarter of 2010 has gotten way too crowded, so as part of a presentation on its next fiscal year, the company announced that Super Street Fighter IV, Lost Planet 2, and the domestic release of Monster Hunter Tri would be better off if they moved out past March 31. That's when the company's current fiscal year ends.

Interestingly, these delays aren't being blamed on the games not being ready. The reasons given include avoiding "the major titles that other companies plan to introduce in the 4th quarter." Keep in mind by "4th quarter" they mean "Q1 2010," as they're talking fiscalyearspeak.

No updated dates for the games were given in the report, only that they'd be released during the next fiscal year, starting on April 1 and trucking through to March 31, 2011. On top of that, the company cut its sales forecast for Dark Void, which is still on track to ship in January. Previously, the Dark Void forecast was 1.3 million units. Now, the company is thinking somewhere around 600,000. I ain't no businessman, but that sounds like a distinct lack of faith in Will Grey's Bermuda Triangle battle to me. Or, well, maybe that's just a more realistic approach to the game, considering that when that initial forecast was given, the first quarter of 2010 wasn't looking like a minefield packed full of big games.

If this keeps up, though, won't Q2 end up being just as packed? I'm all for having big games shipping all year long, but this stuff is kind of starting to get scary. Even scarier? I've just about got my mind wrapped around this [CENSORED] "fiscal year/calendar year" thing. Business!!!!!

No video for this one.

P.S, each of these times are Eastern, just so you know.

Each week, your very own Unforgivable One is going to deliver an update for the news stories he dubs... "Interesting", as long as they are in some way related to gaming/electronics.

I'm doing it today to start it off, but each update after will be done on Wednesdays and Saturdays... Depending on how interesting the news stories are, that is, if nothing special has happened, I reserve the right to rest some more(IE; be lazy). XD

So lets start with Sundays extra special news story, shall we?

Reuters 2009 for doing this news article:

Japanese man takes video game character as wife
Chris Meyers
TOKYO
Sun Dec 20, 2009 5:44pm EST

TOKYO (Reuters) - A Japanese man has married a character in a popular video game, taking her -- and his handheld game console -- on an overseas honeymoon.

The man, who prefers to use his online moniker SAL9000, met character Nene Anegasaki while playing dating simulation game "Love Plus."
They got married a few weeks ago, broadcasting their ceremony live on Japan's version of video-sharing website Youtube.
SAL9000, who did not want to reveal his real name for fear of being misunderstood, admits to be an "otaku," a breed of Japanese youth obsessed with video games, computers and fantasy worlds.
"In the Japanese otaku or nerd culture, there's a tradition of calling characters my wife, and I sort of thought of Nene as my wife. Since I was calling her that, I thought we'd just have to get married then," he told Reuters Television.
"If more people were to find ways of expressing themselves like this, I think it would make society a bit more interesting."
The newlyweds, who went on a honeymoon to Guam, now go on dates around Tokyo, with SAL9000 taking pictures of Nene, installed in his Nintendo DS, in front of famous landmarks and then posting them on social networking sites.
As the game "Love Plus" has voice recognition software, SAL9000 says it's possible to have a sort of conversation with Nene or even play simple games such as rock, paper, scissors.
He also has vowed to have and to hold, for better and for worse, even if another, updated version of the game is released.
"I think I'll probably continue playing Love Plus. I won't cheat," SAL9000 said.

The video; ITNNews 2009 for the report:



Yep... His favorite video game character. o¯o

I shall post more stories at different times during the day; though the final update today is whenever I am done for the day, every day after will be at 11PM Eastern, so be sure to check on it often.